01.08.07 Belarus 5 - 0 Northern Ireland

[Report: Martin Harris, IFA website]

NORTHERN Ireland’s Ladies suffered a five-goal defeat in their latest European Championship qualifier last night in Belarus.

Alfie Wylie's side suffered from disrupted preparation prior to the game with flight delays, lost luggage and limited training opportunities all affecting their build-up.

Despite that they did well to hold their hosts to a single goal in the first half before succumbing to another couple in the opening 15 minutes of the second half. The final two strikes came in stoppage time.

However, Wylie was in upbeat mood after the defeat. "For me this campaign is all about improving our standards and gaining experience," he told the Belfast Telegraph. "We won our pre-qualifying group in Turkey last year, that was what we set out to do. "We are punching above our weight even being at this level, but it is a benefit to our domestic game that we did qualify. The girls who are in the squad know that they have to play at a high standard because others want their place and those who are trying to get into the squad are putting more and more of an effort in. "Belarus are a big, strong, experienced side and the game showed us what we have to do in order to compete at this level."